Breath

 

 

Breath is all we have

The last we do not know,

Very often we take it for granted

Until a difficulty shows.

 

It’s a reflex behaviour

Unless the chest tightens,

That is when we know for sure

There is a problem.

 

Only there and then

As we struggle to breathe

We long for the automaticity

And the usual ease.

 

Such is the asthmatic

When an episode comes

Or an extremely exhausted runner

After a marathon.

 

 

When underwater

Without an aqualung

A diver dares not take a breath

And can’t stay too long.

 

He’d be very stupid

Or perhaps lost his mind,

Or at worst he’s suicidally bent

And decides it is time.

 

Time to leave this life

Can’t take it anymore,

Just one more breath, a final gasp-

Exit: death’s door.

 

Just about 14 breaths

I am taking every minute,

It used to be more I can assure you

But this no longer fits.

 

The rate slows with age

I’ve been reliably informed:

Very unlike the 30 to 60 breaths

For a newly born.

 

 

Breath is like a clock

The kind we used to wind,

When that spring unwinds in full

It’s the end of our time.

 

The limit is in breaths:

552 million in 70 years,

This could be more or even less

Depending on fret or care.

 

When God created Adam

He formed him from mold,

Then He breathed his breath in him

Making him a living soul.

 

7.8 trillion breaths later

Adam breathed his last,

An allotted number is given everyone:

Even Methuselah passed.

 

The record no. of breaths

Breathed by a single man,

Goes to the ancient Methuselah-

Oh, what a lifespan!

 

 

But it came to an end

With his very last breath,

The first was at the time of birth

The last was his death.

 

Our breaths may be many

Or relatively few

But a single breath will indicate

When we are through.

 

A breath is but a moment

That’s often disregarded

But I assure you the Bible shows,

Each one is recorded.

 

No need to count breaths

But you ought to be aware

A single breath will be your last

Whenever it appears

 

God is taking note

Of the breaths we breathed

And one day we’ll breathe the last

And to Him proceed.

 

 

Breath belongs to God,

He gives and takes it back,

While you may have another view

It won’t change the fact.

 

One’s allotted breaths

Are equal to his time,

Do let this Mathematical equation

Linger on your mind.

 

Stewart Russell © August 26, 2025

 

Neither Is A Measure

 

 

Psalm 90:4

 

For a thousand years in thy sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

and as a watch in the night.

 

2 Peter 3:8

 

But, beloved,

be not ignorant of this one thing,

that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,

and a thousand years as one day.

 

Neither of these quotations

Was spoken by the Lord

Although it is a fact

They are both in His Word.

 

It is important, however,

That we treat to the context

And not for our own purposes

To read into the text.

 

Neither of the two verses

Relate to the return of the Lord

But some say we are in the last days

And to the same they refer.

 

Others use these verses

To redefine the days of creation,

Instead of six literal days

6000 years is their summation.

 

Regarding the truth of the matter

Both explanations are off

And as a consequence, I must add,

The real essence was lost.

 

 

In the first Scripture reference

Relating to Moses’s prayer

Moses notes man’s short lifespan

Cannot with God's compare.

  

Time will swiftly pass by

While eternity is forever

And while we reference the former

The latter we can never.

 

Man is soon cut off

And he flies away,

Obituaries are the regular news

Each and every day.

 

Yet God is from everlasting

And to everlasting is God,

Which of us can number His days?

That's not possible at all.

 

The Lord is not slack

Regarding any promise He makes

However, we badly falter

When we try to give dates.

 

 

The second Scripture reference

Is attributed to Peter

And is not meant to be a measure,

Not by this speaker.

 

Some, however, use it

To arrive at a specified time

And to which we are admonished

To keep on our mind.

 

They are date setters

And they like to speculate

Hence, they read the daily tabloids

And set erroneous dates.

 

They are not ashamed

That each time they get it wrong

But evaluate and adjust again,

The more headstrong.

 

Jerusalem was judged

In the first century A.D.,

And coming is another judgment

This time for everybody.

  

God doesn’t reckon as we do;

He need not reckon at all,

He transcends time and everything else

He alone is God.

 

Thus, neither is a measure

Of how God counts

And even if it were,

To what would it amount?

 

Stewart Russell © October 29, 2021